Accounting changes pull down New India Q4 net 39.3%

Its March quarter net premium also fell 3.9 per cent to Rs 5,215.46 crore from Rs 5,428 crore, the company which went public in the December quarter said. G Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, New India Assurance, attributed the steep fall in bottomline to the changes in accounting method during the quarter. For the full financial year, however, the insurer reported a massive 118 per cent jump in net income at Rs 2,201 crore, against Rs 1,008 crore, while its gross written premium rose 15.3 per cent to Rs 26,554 crore over last year.

The combined ratio, which is the profitability gauge of an insurer, improved marginally to 112.23 per cent during the reporting quarter, from 113.07 per cent, while for the full year, it fared better at 111.2 per cent, from 118.7 per cent, Srinivasan said.

But its return on equity more than halved to 8.79 per cent in the March quarter, from 18.42 per cent last year.

Within six months of going public, the company announced a 1:1 bonus issue on top of a 100 per cent more dividend of Rs 5 per share for the year, taking the total dividend payout to 175 per cent or Rs 8.75 a share.

Income from investments under policyholders fund rose 14 per cent to Rs 845.02 crore, while income from investments under shareholders' account fell 33.8 per cent to Rs 469.14 crore for the reporting quarter. Net commission expense jumped over 50 per cent to Rs 601.60 crore. MPOST